SPRING IS HERE!

The birch trees have finally begun to show their new leaves, and the fields are freshly plowed. The ice cream kiosk is open. I think I can safely say that Spring has officially come to this part of Finland. It is gorgeous!! I love watching the earth come back to life after the long winter under its soft white blanket of snow. We are going to be heading to eastern Finland for a couple days this week, and I will get some pictures to share.

I finished my quilt panels and sent them off to California last week. I am literally on pins and needles until I know they have arrived safely. I have one more to start but I need to go get more fabric first. With luck, I will be able to work on this while I am on the road. Not to worry, I do have PLENTY of other goodies to work on.

If you follow my shop, you know that I recently introduced several picture magnets on evenweave. I've been working on adding more. Personally, I prefer these to the ones worked on Aida.

Linen on the left, Aida on the right

As a refresher, I posted the lavender butterfly comparison above. The evenweave is on the left. Evenweave comes in lots of flavors -- this particular one is a lovely 32 count linen from Wichelt. 

So, I have been adding more. Here's a teaser...

The smaller piece of fabric on top is Aida, and the sheet underneath (with the squirrel) is linen. I get to keep working on this fabric while I am on the road, hopefully, and should have some of these pretty, springtime magnets ready to go into the shop shortly. 

I really want to encourage everyone to visit the Facebook page and LIKE it. I will announce sales and specials there more than anyplace else. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

A Novel Idea

While working on the magnets for the Finland Handcrafters Team, I decided to offer some designs on evenweave. There are very few sellers out there that do this. Most stitch on 14 count Aida or perforated plastic (which is also 14 count). Some do stitch on 18 count Aida, but very very few use evenweave. I happen to love working with this, and I will offer it with some appropriate designs.

I have also started grouping items into sets, especially as I complete enough designs to have it make sense. The first up is a set of 3 butterfly magnets, available in either fabric choice.

Set of 3 Butterfly Magnets on Aida

This is a picture of the Aida version. The evenweave version is on a lovely 32 count antique white Lugana.

And yes, that is the same lavender butterfly that was featured in the earlier post on Aida versus Evenweave. I do give a nice break on price for buying the set, plus it is only 1 item for shipping which saves you even more. As I add more to the categories, I will add a listing for any 3 magnets. 

Don't Be Afraid of Evenweave

Many cross stitchers will stitch on nothing but Aida because it is easy to find and easy to work with. It comes in a lot of sizes and colors and you can find it in many shops. Aida can have a "chunky" look to it because of the way it is made. Here's an example of 14 count Aida, and you can readily see where your needle should go.

14 count Aida

  

Evenweave, on the other hand is harder to figure out in the beginning. Here's an example of a 25 count Lugana. The holes are not as obvious as this (and all evenweaves) are made up of one thread running vertically and one thread running horizontally. By way of comparison, Aida has clusters of 4 threads.

25 count Lugana

But why torture yourself for something that is supposed to be relaxing? For one, fractional stitches are a breeze on evenweave. For two, your work looks so much more elegant on it. If you are stitching that is fully covered by stitches and doesn't have a lot of fractionals, Aida is a great way to go. But, if you are on the curious side, give it a go.

Evenweave comes in so many different styles and counts it can be very confusing. Linen is probably the best known but is the hardest to work with. It can have uneven slubs because it is a natural plant fiber. I know, uneven spots in evenweave sounds like an oxymoron but it is really not. Evenweave means the loom has been set for so many stitches per inch in both directions. My recommendations for a first project are Jubilee, Monaco, or Lugana. All have nice rounded threads, come in lots of pretty colors and counts, and are very easy to work on. If you are used to 14 count Aida, look for 28 count evenweave. For your first project, I will suggest 25 count Lugana as it is a little bit larger. You are stitching over 2 threads, so you take the thread count and divide by 2 to get how many stitches per inch.

To start cross stitching, locate your starting point on your chart. Everyone starts in a different place. I usually like my work to be centered so that I have enough excess for framing or mounting. Find the spot closest to your starting point where the vertical thread is on top of the horizontal one. This is where your needle goes. Check this blowup of evenweave. I have a red dot next to the hole where your needle will go for the first stitch. See it? Just remember, you want to ride on TOP of the bridge to enjoy the view.

Doing the magnets for the Finland Handcrafters Team gave me a chance to do a side by side. Here's the same exact design done on 32 count Lugana (left) and also on 16 count Aida (right). Personally, I think the one on Lugana is just a bit more special. This is the one that will be going into the special promotion basket. (For more information, check my earlier post!!) These have not yet been blocked, sorry!!

Side by side - Evenweave on the left, Aida on the right

And here are the finished magnets. The evenweave magnet is on the left.

See how much more delicate the butterfly looks when stitched on evenweave? It's really all about using the materials at hand to make our creations come out the way we see them in our mind. There are just so many lovely lovely fabrics to choose from these days. Don't limit yourself to just working with Aida!

If you are still lost, there are tons of videos out there that show you exactly where to start. Take an easy design, a piece of evenweave, grab a cup of coffee and spend some quiet time bonding with your fabric. I can guarantee that once you try it, you will be hooked and actually look forward to stitching on these exciting fabrics.